After Almost A Century, A Rare Mandarin Duck Has Been Spotted In Assam Wetlands
In a once-in-a-century sighting, a Mandarin Duck was sighted at Maguri Beel of Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Tinsukia district on Monday evening.
For the first time in over 100 years, a mandarin duck was spotted in Assam¡¯s Maguri Motapung Beel earlier this week.
According to an Indian Express report, the rare colour-blocked duck was found floating in the Maguri-Motapung beel (or wetland) in Assam¡¯s Tinsukia district for over a week.
Twitter/@vivek4wild
The rare find was spotted by a survey team of Wildlife Trust India (WTI). Tweeting about it, Vivek Menon, WTI CEO said, "Fantastic find by @wti_org_india White-winged duck survey team of Aftab & Mahesh ( volunteer from @AsianWildlife). Mandarin Duck sighted after perhaps a hundred years from Maguri beel Dibru Saikhowa. #assam. Photo shows it with a spotbill duck."
Fantastic find by @wti_org_india White-winged duck survey team of Aftab & Mahesh ( volunteer from @AsianWildlife). Mandarin Duck sighted after perhaps a hundred years from Maguri beel Dibru Saikhowa. #assam. Photo shows it with a spotbill duck pic.twitter.com/NGnsTbokSW
¡ª Vivek Menon (@vivek4wild) February 8, 2021
The mandarin duck has a distinctive, elaborate plumage and it nests in trees. The bird is native to East Asia, but has established feral populations throughout Western Europe.
The Indian Express report quotes ornithologist Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury saying that sighting could have been accidental as these birds sometimes tend to stray from their flock.
Also Read: Pets Are Family Too: Image Shows Migrant Workers Carrying Dog & Duck As They Walk Along Highway
ebird.org
Reports also state that the duck was last seen in the area in 1902, making the latest sighting the first in 118 years.
The East Mojo quoted Imon Abedin, a zoology student, saying that rare duck is a positive sign that the beel is reviving after the devastating Baghjan gaswell fire of Oil India Limited. In May 2020, the beel was adversely affected by fire at an Oil India Limited-owned gas well.
Also Read: Hilarious! Dog Out-Witted By Duck Who Played Dead To Save Itself
The oil spill had killed a number of fish, snakes as well as an endangered Gangetic dolphin, and the fire had burnt a large portion of the grassland.
